Halfords lifts full-year profit outlook, shares surge

27th Aug 2026 09:06

(Sharecast News) - Halfords shares surged on Thursday after the motoring and cycling products retailer lifted its profit outlook for the year, having been boosted in part by unusually warm weather.

Based on a "strong" performance in the year to date, the company now expects FY27 underlying pre-tax profit of between £55m and £65m, ahead of current consensus of £52.6m and a range of range of £48.9m to £55.1m.

"Building on the strong current trading noted in our FY26 results announcement, Halfords has continued to outperform over recent months," it said. "This reflects momentum in the underlying business as we continue to deliver against our strategic priorities alongside a very strong performance in seasonal categories, in part reflecting unusually warm summer weather."

Halfords estimated that this heightened seasonal demand resulted in incremental profit in the mid-single digit millions of pounds.

"Reflecting the factors set out above, we now expect FY27 performance to be further weighted towards the first half of the year as we accelerate investment in technology and marketing in the second half," it said.

At 0900 BST, the shares were up 10.4% at 266p.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "Halfords shares have really climbed in recent months, and today's numbers seem to confirm that this wasn't just due to over-inflated expectations.

"Not only was guidance boosted significantly, but the whole forecast bracket sits above previous expectations. The risk now is that the end of the long hot summer will see appetite for getting out and about start to dim, but a pickup in marketing should help offset that to a degree."

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: "A summer of sunshine has got people out of the house to enjoy the fresh air and go explore near and far. That's been music to the ears of Halfords as it has played a key role in helping to support people's summer activities.

"That ranges from selling bikes and accessories or helping to keep cars on the road with new tyres, oils and fluids, and batteries. It's clear that Halfords has been a heatwave beneficiary as it upgraded profit expectations.

"Halfords talks about heightened seasonal demand which suggests that bikes could have been flying off the shelves. Getting back on top with the cycling part of its business has been a long time coming, given how Halfords suffered an almighty post-Covid slump for two-wheeled sales.

"The stock has now nearly doubled in price year-to-date as it enjoys positive momentum in the business. Investors should be happy, but they'll also be watching Halfords' second half closely.

"The company has flagged that it will accelerate investment in technology and marketing and it will need to prove this extra spending is worthwhile. Investors often fail to recognise the importance of spending money today to make money tomorrow, given widespread short-termism."

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